Woman jailed for robbery which left pensioner with multiple injuries

A woman who left a pensioner with multiple injuries after robbing her of her handbag in Weston-super-Mare has been jailed for seven years.

Rosanna Cooper pulled the 88-year-old woman’s bag off her arm on Colonel Stephens Way on 10 January, causing her to fall to the floor.

The woman suffered a broken nose, a fractured wrist and severe bruising as a result of the incident.

After taking the bag, Cooper ran off down an alleyway where she dumped it having taken cash and a bank card from inside.

She then used her victim’s bank card to attempt to buy cigarettes from a shop on Baker Street but the card was declined having already been cancelled with the assistance of one or the paramedics who treated the victim.

Cooper was subsequently identified from the shop’s CCTV footage.

The 31-year-old, of no fixed address, was convicted of robbery following a trial at Bristol Crown Court in July having previously admitted fraud by false representation. She was sentenced today at the same court to five years for the robbery and two years for a separate unconnected drugs offence. The sentences will run consecutively.

In a Victim Personal Statement read out at court, the elderly woman described how the incident had affected her.

She said: “After the mugging, I didn’t want to go out for quite a while. I felt safe in the hospital and I could relax in the hospital but coming home it rather hit me and I didn’t sleep so well once I came home.

“Going out, I would go with my husband and I would hang on to him like a limpet.

“I’m a bit better now but I’m still very anxious if I’m on my own. I grab my bag like mad when I’m on my own.”

She added: “This incident has impacted on me greatly in so many different ways.

“The physical trauma, which resulted in broken bones and on-going care and rehabilitation, which has left me with permanent reduced flexibility in my wrists and misaligned teeth.

“The mental trauma, which has left me frightened and nervous every time I go out and especially when people are walking towards me.

“Also the nightmares and flashbacks of the incident, which have been a constant reminder of the terrifying incident.”

Investigating officer Detective Constable Matthew Stevenson said: “Cooper is someone who lives a chaotic lifestyle and who thought nothing of the consequences of her actions.

“In stealing what was a relatively small amount of money to buy drugs and cigarettes she has dramatically changed the quality of life of an elderly woman.

“She has continually refused to take responsibility for what she did and I hope the sentence she has received today brings comfort to her victim that justice has been done.”